NBC considered on Friday how the Iraq War and President Bush's 29% approval rating might "affect his party's prospects in the upcoming elections." White House correspondent David Gregory pointed out that, if historical trends hold true, a president as unpopular as Bush is unlikely to be succeeded by another Republican. However, the dilemma for potential candidates is that the president remains popular among Republican primary voters, making it difficult for them to distance themselves from him.
Tim Russert said there was nothing the president could do to improve Republican prospects in 2008 short of "a dramatic turnaround" in Iraq, politically as well as militarily, because the Democrats are not allowing the Republicans any middle ground. "You see what's happening in the Senate," Russert explained. "While those Republicans have broken publicly with the president, saying we need a change of policy, the Democrats aren't having anything of the sort. They're forcing them to vote simply 'withdraw' or 'not withdraw.'"
Russert concluded that although the president just wants to run out the clock, Congressional Republicans will have to face the voters in 2008. "They cannot wait and ride this war out," he said.
The following video is from NBC's Today Show, broadcast on July 20.
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